FEATURE TOPIC
This issue, Jerome spoke to: Anna Buckle , Director of Operations and Impact, PayCaptain Joanne Leather MCIPPdip , Education Manager, IPP Education Eilidh McFarlane MCIPPdip , Payroll Manager, Angus Council. The modern workplace
Payroll professionals new and old are reimagining what it means to build a fulfilling, tech-driven and future-proof career. In this issue, Jerome Smail, Freelance Journalist, explores the evolving demands of the modern workplace, gaining insights from industry leaders on how payroll can attract the next generation, adapt to new technologies and foster long-term development through flexibility and purpose
How does the profession make itself attractive to the Generation Alpha (born 2010 onwards) population that will be entering the workforce shortly? Anna Buckle: Gen Alpha are going to be particularly demanding in the workforce, and rightly so – they’re more driven by purpose and values than any previous generation. And they’ve grown up in a world where the boundaries of work and life are more blurred than ever with flexible working, all of which will need to be embraced to attract and retain the best of Gen Alpha. We’ll need to engage with their values and them as people, not just provide a job. Using technology to drive aspects of this will also be key, as they’re ever more familiar with the fast-changing world of tech, and will
have high expectations of their workplace software solutions. All of this points to them being in a position to contribute huge value to the workforce for employers that can deliver in these key areas. Joanne Leather: I feel payroll has a bit of an uphill struggle ahead regarding making itself attractive to those entering the workforce. The CIPP and IPP Education, along with many other organisations, are taking steps to bust some of the myths around what payroll is and does, such as: l it’s all about numbers and you must be good at maths l it’s boring l it’s just pressing a button. Gen Alpha are the most tech savvy generation yet and want dynamic, fast- paced careers with value. Ironically, despite
its reputation, payroll ticks a lot of these boxes. Payroll is tech-driven, with more complex systems being used to not just calculate the pay run itself but also to analyse the masses of data that payroll holds. This data is vital to a business’s financial health, employee wellbeing and, of course, for contributing to the economic stability of the country and the Government’s census data. Promotion of the payroll profession and the careers available is so important to showcase the variety of pathways which can be taken within the industry. Many people immediately think of the actual running of the payroll and the transfer of funds to employees each pay period. While this is the heart of the profession, there are so many other areas to be explored. Those
PROFESSI NAL in Payroll, Pensions and Reward
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June 2025 | Issue 111
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